The Bigfoot Hunters( 2013 )

"The Bigfoot Hunters" from writer, director Matt Hausmann intrigued me as soon as I looked at the poster art and read the description. The president has been kidnapped by Bigfoot! This quick sentence alongside the artwork, immediately conjured up memories of crazy films such as "Mars Attacks" and even the "Creepshow" series. That campy yet awesome vibe was even present in the trailer, almost forcing me to watch this film. What doesn't sound good about this? We've got Bigfoot, AKA: The Foot or even the Squatch. We've got a ragtag bunch of really strange people and even a Bigfoot Anonymous group. When any movie begins with a bikini clad woman running from the dreaded Bigfoot in a dense forest... and the ridiculous fact she's in a bikini in the forest is pointed out by the film itself... you really expect to laugh a lot during the production. Being equally honest, I did laugh quite a bit. The reality is that I was simply expecting more. It's all here however, all the ingredients for a laugh a minute film; but what you get just doesn't live up to what you're expecting. This is by no means a bad movie. In fact, in the world of indie and low budget film an average rating is actually quite an accomplishment. So many others fall flat and just don't deliver. "The Bigfoot Hunters" is a solid comedic romp through the absurd. You can't deny the smile that forms on your face, when characters such as "Shit Kicker" or "Unleaded Diesel" square off against our favorite hairy friend. You also can't help dawn a knowing smile when you meet "Remy Winnebago" and realize you probably have a real life friend who is very similar to this strange guy. The sheer audacity to have such crazy, over the top characters is what makes this film work. Don't even get me started on the cliche redneck and his faithful companion. So where does "The Bigfoot Hunters" really remind you this is, in fact, an indie low budget flick? It's all in the technicalities ladies, gents and Bigfeet. All in the technicalities. Shaky crazy camera work. This movie is full of it. Let's lay it all out and ask one question: Why? It may have worked in the Blair Witch film but there are reasons for that. It was never meant to take over an entire generation of filmmakers. Blair Witch was unique at the time, and the found footage, crappy style, was meant to be just that. Footage that was never intended to be shown in the state it was in. That was the beauty of the movie, many people actually believed this was real stuff. Not fiction. The shaky dumpy camera work was meant to further illustrate the perception of reality, thus giving the film that much more of a creep factor. Somewhere along the way people began to think this style was a good one for low budget indie flicks. If it worked for Blair Witch... it can work for me. Not true. Especially now that the novelty has not only worn off, but is mostly laughed at. I absolutely love movies, especially independent flicks. To me however, crappy footage just makes me think the filmmaker was lazy. You don't need a million bucks to mount a camera on a tripod. I'm not necessarily talking about this movie, I'm just writing in general terms. But here, with "The Bigfoot Hunters" more of a standardized approach would have made a world of difference. Regarding the comic book styled inserts... I loved them. What a great way to make a film not only feel bigger, but add a style and a feeling to that title. Again, moving back to the camera work, these inserts contrasted the actual film so much that they literally stood out like a sore thumb. The back and forth, from the shaky film to the excellent inserts was like... welding a 1979 Camaro front end onto the body of a Chevy Chevette. Can you dig it? Where "The Bigfoot Hunters" does shine is in the dialog and characters themselves. The actors deserve a huge high five for their cheesy, cliche and over the top performances. It was great! The cast were the folks who made the jokes work and the script come to life. A real pleasure to watch. A special nod should also be given to Mr. Bigfoot himself. Excellent makeup work that I was surprised to see in such a low budget title. In the end, when it's all said and done we have a solid flick that does, indeed, make you laugh. The atmosphere and crazy acting make this a quick feeling twenty minutes. No doubt about that. If not for the technical limitations we would have had a stellar film. The fact an average Joe can hit the play button, and probably watch through the entire movie chuckling most of the time says volumes. Is this a funny movie? Hell yes. Is it perfect? No... but it doesn't need to be to get the job done. Do you want to know what makes this title even better? The fact it's available to watch, for free, right now. So why not set aside a few minutes of laughing time. You'll get it here, with this movie. For real.